CNN’s Cooper trolls Trump with history lesson on past presidents taking responsibility for their failures

CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Tuesday trolled Donald Trump’s pledge not to take responsibility for the failed GOP healthcare push, reading quotes from prior presidents willing to accept culpability for their shortcomings.

“We’re not going to own it, I’m not going to own it,” Trump said Monday after the Senate indicated it could not pass a healthcare plan. “I can tell you the Republicans are not going to own it. We’ll let ObamaCare fail and Democrats are going to come to us.”

Noting Republicans’ “repeal and replace” mantra lacks support even within the GOP, Cooper pointed out the president’s statement “follows last night’s stinging defeat on legislation to repeal and replace.”

“Not exactly Harry Truman’s ‘the buck stops here’ nor John F. Kennedy’s wry observation, as he accepted possibility for failed Bay of Pigs operation, that ‘victory has 100 fathers and defeat is an orphan,’” Cooper said of Trump’s proclamation. “It’s not even Otter’s words of tough love to his Delta house frat brother Flounder, ‘You f-ed up, you trusted us.’ Not even that.”

“The president clearly wanting people to believe this is not his problem, not even a Republican problem,” Cooper continued. “According to the president, the problem is that no Democrats came on board. It’s as if he’s forgotten one of his most frequently repeated promises throughout the election.”

After playing a montage of Trump promising to repeal and replace ObamaCare, Cooper noted “Now … the president says he favors repealing ObamaCare without a replacement.”

“That’s a big change from the campaign,” Cooper said. “Back then he took get pains to reassure those who might depend on ObamaCare provisions they wouldn’t be left out in the cold—no repeal without a replacement, something better.”

“Now that he’s president, Donald Trump is responsible for what happens to each and every one, Cooper said. “Which he seemed to recognize back when he was trying to win their vote.”

“He seems less concerned now saying he’s not going own it,” Cooper continued. “Which is strange because when the House version passed this spring the president was eager to own that one. He threw a big victory celebration there in the Rose Garden.

“He’s not going to own it now, but four years ago as a citizen he said something different indeed,” Cooper added. “In a tweet back in 2013, Trump gave this piece of leadership wisdom: whatever happens you’re responsible, and it if it doesn’t happen you’re responsible.”